Hongkong, Sept. 12.
Hongkong's estimated revenue for the year 1996 totals $26,071,845, while itis estimated that expenditure will Jamount to $29,508,148, according to the [Colony Budget, which was introduced to-day based on a 1s 8. dollar. The! Government, it was announced, pro-oses additional taxation and 'a re-Guction of civil savants' salaries the dollar falls below the estimates' rate, "No provision has been made for pegging the value of the dollar.
No provision has been made in the Budget for the assistance of commercial aviation in Hongkong, but, if air communications are established during the year, the Legislative Council will be asked to vote whatever funds are judicious.
An encouraging feature of the Budget is seen in the statement that "it is calculated that, should the exchange remain in the neighbourhood of two shillings, the excess of assets over liabilities at December 31 will be no less than $10,000,000.—Reuter duties, but they did not even pay ordinary railway" freight the silk being taken as hand baggage, pack-Jed in the passenger coaches. "It is quite an ordinary sight to see when. the Chinwangtao train arrives at the East Station, a string of rickshaw [coolies proceeding over the Interna-{tional Bridge and down the Rue de France, each rickshaw piled with luggage—artificial. silk—generally, wrapped in gunny sacks escorted by' Jseveral Koreans. If the police are suspicious and try to search the: rickshaws the Koreans at once appear upon the scene and claim the [packages as their own personal luggage,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.